About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 69

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 69. Who Would Accept?
‘Compose yourself. Compose yourself, Priscilla. He doesn’t know me. He can’t recognize me.’
I took a quiet, deep breath and offered a gentle smile, lowering my head respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace. I am Priscilla, the lead designer of Raber Salon.”
I managed to greet him with composure.
But Luderne Wintem offered no response. Only silence descended, and the air around us grew cold.
“….”
My mind felt like a blank slate. I had no idea how to continue the conversation.
It was Brissel Mohr who finally broke the unbearable silence.
“Ahem! Your Grace, it is discourteous to stand before a lady without uttering a word.”
“That is… true, I suppose.”
A low voice flowed from his perfectly formed lips.
“Luderne Wintem.”
That familiar voice reaching my ears was sweet. My heart trembled with longing.
Tears threatened to spill, but I held them back and met his gaze once more. As always, his expression remained inscrutable.
Luderne gestured with a finger to a passing servant carrying a tray of cocktails.
When the servant approached, he took a cocktail and extended it toward me.
“I’m not particularly good with words. Shall we have a drink?”
I gazed at the cocktail in the inverted triangle glass. The liquid, held in white-gloved hands, shimmered with a golden pearl hue.
I looked toward Madame Laber.
Madame Laber gave me a knowing wink, as if to say it was time.
“Oh, I actually have some other matters to discuss with Brissel Mohr. Brissel Mohr, shall we step over there for a moment?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You two are discussing business matters, I see? How wonderfully suited you are to each other.”
Brissel Mohr looked bewildered, but when Luderne Wintem gave a single nod, he reluctantly followed Madame Laber away.
Left alone, Luderne Wintem pushed the cocktail glass further toward me. I clinked my glass lightly against his in a toast.
“I don’t recall seeing your face in the Capital. Which noble house do you belong to?”
“I apologize. I am a commoner.”
“Where are you from? The Arde Kingdom?”
“I am from the Necari Territory of the Doerban Empire.”
“From the Doerban Empire all the way here?”
“Madame Laber reached out to me. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to work while meeting such refined individuals in society.”
“…I see.”
Luderne Wintem nodded, then drank his cocktail in silence for a moment.
He seemed lost in thought, so I too quietly sipped my drink.
The moderately strong cocktail brought a refreshing sensation to my mouth. As the cool liquid slid down my throat, my nerves began to settle.
At the same time, relief washed over me.
Luderne Wintem did not recognize me at all.
After finishing one glass and picking up a second, Luderne Wintem spoke again.
“This may be a rather impertinent question, but given the nature of Madame’s shadowy enterprises, I find I must ask.”
‘Quite rude?’
I wasn’t sure why he felt the need to preface it that way, but I nodded readily enough.
“Please, ask whatever you’d like.”
“Does the designer at Raber Salon also take male clients?”
“Of course. If you make a reservation, I’m happy to accommodate you.”
One of Luderne’s eyebrows twitched upward.
“A reservation?”
“Yes, a reservation.”
“That means… I’m not the only client?”
“It seems that way, yes.”
“How many in a single day?”
“These days, I see about three people.”
Luderne drained his second cocktail in one gulp.
“It’s not… exhausting, then.”
The question seemed difficult to ask, as if he were squeezing out the words.
“It’s work. And I enjoy it.”
Crack.
In that instant, the cocktail glass in Luderne’s hand shattered.
I looked up in alarm, but Luderne called for a servant as if it were nothing, still holding the broken glass.
“A defective glass, it seems.”
“Oh, my apologies, Your Highness. Are you injured?”
Luderne placed the shattered glass and his white gloves, dampened with the remnants of the cocktail, onto the servant’s tray.
“Fortunately, I was wearing gloves.”
After washing his hands in the water basin another servant brought, Luderne picked up a fresh cocktail glass.
“That will be all. You may go.”
He spoke graciously, then drained the cocktail.
“You seem fond of cocktails.”
One corner of Luderne’s mouth lifted.
“No. Madame Laber introduced me to a woman who receives countless men, and I’m trying to cool my temper.”
His words were strange.
“…What did you say?”
“She said I could come by even tonight, and to do as I pleased.”
The conversation seemed to be going awry.
“I’m not sure what you mean. Business hours have already ended for today.”
Luderne’s eyes widened.
“Isn’t nighttime when the real work begins?”
I paused for a moment.
“Wait. I think our conversation is getting crossed. Have I misunderstood something?”
I retraced our exchange carefully.
“It’s quite a rude question, but given Madame’s involvement in underground dealings, I felt compelled to ask.”
A rather rude question—the hallmark of a woman conducting shadowy enterprises.
And the questions and flow that followed.
“Does the designer at Raber Salon also entertain male clients?”
Night was when the real work began….
Realizing his implication, I felt dizzy and pressed my forehead with one hand.
Of course, I understood well enough. Madame Raber’s business interests did extend in that direction.
But I was appalled, and furious.
“Good heavens, have you been viewing me as a courtesan all this time? I was discussing salon work, not that.”
“I did warn you it would be a rude question.”
Feeling contempt, I shot Luderne a sharp look.
“I am the principal designer of the salon. Naturally, I was referring to salon decoration commissions.”
Luderne’s pupils wavered.
Only then did his expression show that he too had realized our conversation had gone awry.
“I’m aware that Madame Raber is deeply involved in that world. She’s even asked whether I’d consider becoming someone’s mistress. But I have no interest whatsoever in that line of work. I only work as a designer.”
Luderne covered his mouth with one hand.
“Madame Raber was so emphatic about it that I asked to confirm….”
He paused for a moment, then exhaled softly.
“My resistance bred prejudice, and I asked carelessly. I apologize for my rudeness.”
Perhaps because I was certain he didn’t recognize me at all, courage welled up within me.
“Well, who would accept such a thing?”
At those words, Luderne’s eyes widened further.
I swallowed for a moment. It was a new reaction from a man who had been nearly expressionless until now.
In a way, he resembled an innocent boy.
Because of that, the displeasure I’d felt at being mistaken for a courtesan dissolved like a lie.
But I couldn’t simply say it was fine.
“You asked a rather rude question. If you’re truly sorry, I trust you’ll consider my feelings.”
Luderne looked thoroughly embarrassed.
After a brief silence, he seemed to regain his composure and returned to his usual demeanor. Then he covered his nose slightly with his finger.
“…The fragrance is too strong. I’m truly sorry.”
His tone remained the same, but sincerity came through.
Which in turn left me puzzled.
‘Had I applied perfume?’
And was he really the sort of person to apologize like this?
“Whether your anger subsides or not, I’ll invest in Madame Raber’s business as an apology. I’m expanding the scale beyond my original plan.”
I was taken aback. This was exactly what Madame Raber had wanted to hear.
Luderne called for a servant again. He took another cocktail in hand and gave the servant an instruction.
“Bring Madame Raber and Brissel Mohr.”
Soon Madame Raber and Brissel Mohr arrived.
“You called for me.”
“I’ve decided to invest after speaking with the designer of Raber Salon.”
Madame Laber’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Ask him. How much investment does he require?”
Madame Laber turned to look at me.
When I merely shrugged my shoulders, Madame Laber quickly spoke to Luderne.
“Our initial plan is to establish a branch of the Raber Salon in a prosperous territory of the Arde Kingdom, and once we break even, expand into the Doerban Empire, Your Grace. The scale of the venture is quite substantial.”
“So how much?”
Madame Laber’s lips trembled slightly.
“I have rather ambitious aspirations, and I hope you won’t be alarmed. Distributed investment is also possible, I’m told.”
She took a deep breath, then opened her mouth with solemn resolve.
“Fifty thousand gold coins.”
It was a sum equivalent to five billion won.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————